The document summarizes a project called REE4EU that aims to develop a process for extracting rare earth elements from permanent magnets and nickel metal hydride battery waste to strengthen the European rare earth element supply chain. The process involves using high temperature electrolysis and ionic liquid extraction. In the first year of the project, lab-scale integration of these steps was completed and an engineering design for the industrial-scale process was developed. A report on stakeholders in the rare earth element value chain was also produced to help with dissemination efforts.

1. Integrated high temperature electrolysis
and Ion liquid extraction for a strong
and independent european rare earth
elements supply chain.
If you would like more information about the
project, please contact us:
Project Coordinator:
Dr. Ana Maria Martinez
SINTEF Materials and Chemistry
AnaMaria.Martinez@sintef.no
Exploitation manager:
Dr. Nader Akil
PNO Innovation (PNO Innovation B.V.)
nader.akil@pnoconsultants.com
Dissemination contact:
Dr. Patrizia Circelli
Ciaotech (PNO Innovation B.V.)
p.circelli@ciaotech.com
REE4EU PROJECT
RARE EARTH RECYCLING
FOR EUROPE
www.ree4eu.eu
CONTACT USCONSORTIUM
REE4EU is a project funded by
the European Commission
This project has received funding from the
European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and
Innovation program under Grant Agreement n°
680507

2. The project, funded in the frame of Horizon 2020
TOPIC SPIRE-07-2015, will realize a breakthrough
innovation in the field of recovery technologies for
metals and other minerals. It will make available
rare earth elements and rare earth alloys for
magnet production by developing, for the first
time at industrial scale, an efficient and cost
effective method of extraction and a direct
production route for rare earth alloys which will be
achieved through in-process and end-of-Life
permanent magnets as well as Ni metal hydride
battery waste.
THE PROJECT OBJECTIVES
The REE4EU project will develop, validate and
demonstrate in 2 industrially relevant pilots an
innovative rare earth alloys production route from
permanent magnets and nickel metal hydride
battery waste.
The targeted integrated solution is based on
recently developed lab-proven technologies for
direct high temperature electrolysis of rare earth
alloys production. It will be combined in the pilots
with an innovative and proven Ionic liquid
extraction or tailored hydrometallurgical
pre-treatment.
During the first year, the consortium has completed Phase 1 of the project, which saw the partners undertake lab-scale and off-line
integration, tailoring the ionic liquid extraction (ILE) and high temperature electrolysis (HTE) steps of the project. The engineering teams
IDENER and A3i-Inovertis, together with SINTEF, the University of Toulouse and Tecnalia, as well as the industrial partners responsible
for the pilots, Elkem and Less Common Metals, established the corresponding conceptual engineering design for the process. Moreover,
since the project involves the full value chain to prove technical and economic viability of this technology for recycling magnetic waste,
a Value Chains Stakeholders Analysis Report has been realized by PNO, aiming at helping the REE4EU partners in setting up targeted
dissemination and communications actions towards the relevant group of stakeholders from a specific value chain, and on the other
hand, to provide information to the public at large on the relevant industrial and academic stakeholders that are connected to the topic
of the recovery of REE. Furthermore a selected group of identified stakeholders are being interviewed to elaborate a market analysis
on the most relevant EoL products containing REE. The Value Chain Stakeholder Analysis report is available at the project website.
The targeted integrated solution will demonstrate
dramatic improvements in cost and environmental
performance compared to state of the art
technologies:
This includes avoidance of process steps,
50% energy savings,
100% recycling of reagents as opposed to
disposal of strong acid leaching agents in state
of the art pre-treatment steps.
BENEFITS
FIRST YEAR PROJECT RESULTS